Comparative study: What is the impact of blending on microbiological detection in the food industry?

In the food industry, microbiology laboratories use advanced detection and enumeration methods.
But what about sample blending? 

The importance of extraction in microbiological analysis

Extraction is crucial in the analysis of food samples. Proper homogenization ensures better recovery of present microorganisms, leading to more precise and reproducible results.

Comparison of two types of blenders…

Various blending technologies exist on the market. But how can we compare these solutions in terms of microbiological extraction performance?

To answer this question, Alliance Bio Expertise (ABE) requested a rigorous comparative study from ESIAB (École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Agroalimentaire de Bretagne-Atlantique).

The objective: Evaluate the efficiency of two technologies on the same food sample.

One of the lab blenders is based on a pendular system, while the other uses a more conventional blending process.

Experimental Protocol:

The study was conducted on a particularly delicate matrix: “knack” sausages, whose “slippery” skin makes homogenization difficult. 

• Sausages were inoculated with a reference strain of Escherichia coli at 7400 cfu per gram.
  
  
• The samples were then mixed using the two different blenders.
  
  
• Finally, the obtained suspensions were plated on TBX agar for a comparative analysis of bacterial concentrations.

Results:

A higher recovery rate with MIXWEL UP!

• The MIXWEL UP! lab blender by ABE provides more effective extraction than a conventional lab blender. In fact, the concentration obtained after blending is approximately 1.5 times higher with MIXWEL UP! (1744.8 CFU/g) compared to the conventional blender (1123.4 CFU/g).
  
  
• The recovery rate, a key indicator of extraction efficiency, is also significantly improved with MIXWEL UP! : 23.6% compared to only 15.2% with the conventional blender.

Optimised blending for reliable extraction

This study highlights the impact of blender selection in sample preparation. Efficient blending ensures better bacterial recovery, leading to more reliable and representative analysis.

With its innovative pendulum system, the MIXWEL UP! blender guarantees optimal extraction, ensuring better homogenization of food matrices and more precise results.

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